TED
Bill and TED’s excellent adventure.
Here are all 28 slides used in Bill Gates’ “Innovating to Zero” talk at TED on February 12, 2010.
Why are they so good?
- They tell the story, even without his narration.
- No chart junk.
- Exactly the right amount of information. No more, no less.
- Every graphic element has been considered, and has a purpose. Every graphic element works.
- Color, emotion, drama. Human faces.
- Most of the slides have 10 words or less. The most powerful slide has one number. The second most powerful slide has two words.
- Only 28 slides.
Don’t hesitate to watch the talk itself. But also consider how the visuals have been carefully constructed and choreographed to help a powerful man deliver a critical message (some say the most important climate change message you’ll hear this year). I plan on returning to these graphics again and again to remind myself, and my clients, how slides are really supposed to work.
Ironically, from the man who made chart junk such a problem in the first place.
Brilliant minds.
Richard Saul Wurman and Marc Hodosh are bringing together some of the most brilliant minds in healthcare and well-being next week for a four-day old-school-style TED extravaganza in San Diego. Soulellis Studio did the TEDMED name badges, schedules, speaker booklets, sponsor signage, etc. And I’ll be there, tweeting away (@soulellis).
TEDx
In the spirit of “ideas worth sharing,” TED will introduce a new program that allows anyone in the world to host their own TED event. It hasn’t even fully launched but events are already occurring in Taipei, Tokyo, Melbourne, Austin and USC. Currently working on the new identity (shown) and the guidelines that will go out globally. It’s great fun and it looks like it’s leading to a much larger branding system for all of TED (TED Global, TED India, etc). More coming soon!
TED Twenty Five
One goal in life has been to get to a TED conference, so I was really honored when Richard Saul Wurman recommended that they collaborate with me for a special 25th anniversary logo for TED2009. What you see here apparently graces the cover of this year’s program book, among other things (…still haven’t seen it…fingers crossed that it looks good!). TED2009 is going on right now in Long Beach, CA, with Bill Gates, Seth Godin, Nate Silver, Tim Burners-Lee and Oliver Sacks among this years’ speakers; listen in to the official TED2009 tweets here.
We’re working on a few other special projects with TED. More to come soon.